


what it takes

by Crystalinastar



Series: Duke Week 2020 [5]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Ficlet, Gen, Leadership
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26311717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystalinastar/pseuds/Crystalinastar
Summary: Is Duke a leader? Dick sure seems to think so.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas
Series: Duke Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902853
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	what it takes

**Author's Note:**

> it's a bit of a late upload, but! i wrote this for duke week day 5, leadership!

Duke trains when he gets taken in by Bruce. Trains and trains and trains. He’s not up to Bruce’s level, he’s not up to _anyone’s_ level, and he knows that. He needs to work at it. 

He rushes towards the mannequin, using his escrima sticks to strike it in the would-be ribs area. 

“Don’t stick around,” says a familiar voice. Duke’s eyes widen and he turns to see Dick Grayson walking towards him. “You hit, you get out, but if you stick around you’re asking to get hit back. Get out of the way as soon as you can.”

“Good to know,” Duke responds, nodding. 

Dick Grayson grins and whips out two escrima sticks of his own. (Where was he hiding those?) “Want to use that advice right now?”

“Sure—?” 

Dick runs at him before Duke can actually finish processing that.

He evades stepping to the side, and uses Dick’s momentum to land a solid kick in his chest. Dick stumbles back. 

_Wait_ , Duke thinks, _I actually hit him?_

Then _Dick_ hits _Duke_ , taking the chance to drop down and sweep Duke’s legs. “See?” Dick tells Duke as he groans on the mat. “You need to get away before they can hit you back.”

“Yeah,” Duke grunts, wincing as he rises. “Yeah, I see.”

Dick pats him on the back. “But you’re good. Good instincts, other than that. You’ll get better.” He eyes Duke, up and down, and Duke furrows his eyebrows in anticipation. “Still leader material in my eyes, you just need to work on it.”

“You know I let a kid die?” Duke blurts. “I told a kid—Travis—I told him to turn himself in. Hold himself accountable and take responsibility. He died.” The unspoken words: “How can I be a leader if I lead people to their deaths?”

He frowns, turning his head sideways and crossing his arms. Troy Walker, Travis Price, _his parents_ —all people he failed.

Dick places hands on his shoulders, and Duke looks up to see clear blue eyes, resolute but not unkind. “That’s… that’s the job, Duke. I wish I could tell you otherwise. But that’s how it is. Sometimes people die, and it’s not right, but I’m sure you did the best you could. And I’ve seen you in action. When you speak? People listen. You care about your people. You try. Those are all qualities of a good leader. A _great_ one.”

Duke averts his gaze. “Yeah. If you say so.”

“I do,” says Dick. “Like I said. You’ll get better. And I can’t wait to see you grow into it. So just… trust me, okay?”

Duke wants to.


End file.
